Winning Words 12/14/10
“If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to you when you go for a walk.” (Raymond Inmon) Someone that I know sent me an envelope full of quotations that I might use as Winning Words. I’ll be using a few from time to time – like today. I see people walking down our street, in the mall. Some of them are wearing ear buds. I wonder if angels can whisper through iPods. ;-) Jack

FROM GOOD DEBT JON: Yes, this morning through the soft dawn they said, “Go inside—it’s 10 degrees out here. Get thee to a mall!” FROM JACK: Angels are in the mall, too, and not just hanging from the ceiling.

FROM HS IN MICHIGAN: While I don’t believe in angels, I have to tell you that this is a terrific quote. FROM JACK: Speaking as a theologian, the word angel, means a messenger from God. I believe that God sends messages to us in a variety of ways. It may be by way of a person, an event, a thought. However that message comes, the one who brings it...person, event, thought...is an angel. Perhaps you might want to reconsider your belief in angels. MORE FROM HS: Certainly a fair point. I just think it’s the nomenclature to which I am personally unaccustomed but I loved the thought. In biblical times the visual of a winged creature had some relevance, but God chooses to "appear" to each of us us in a way gives meaning to the message.

FROM PO IN BETHLEHEM: Have been walking in Bethlehem all day. Spent a lot of time getting lost, but that's how you meet people and by far the most of them couldn't be more helpful. FROM JACK: What a thrill it must be, to walk in Bethlehem at this time of the year. Have you heard any angels sing? Or have you heard any messages from God?

FROM JK IN JAPAN: I am back in Japan for another meeting, but I wanted to Thank You for your encouragement. It has been a really, really long travel day.... I will be up late working on information
for tommorow's meeting but I wanted to say Hello & ask for a prayer for clarity and mental refreshing tonight as I sit down in front of the computer. FROM JACK: Thank you for providing the quote for today's WWs. There are angels in Japan, too, because God follows us wherever we go and even knows how to enter a computer mouse.

FROM CS IN WISCONSIN: I am always looking for creative ideas, but I think I’ll wait to walk until it is a little warmer. It is -19 here this morning. Hope you are a lot warmer! FROM JACK: I carry a card which says, "Wherever I am, God is!" That goes for his angels, too. 19 below, or hotter that h---, God is there.

FROM ML IN ILLINOIS: i love to listening to whispers in the wind. some think they are one's own thoughts. i choose to believe that they are messages from creation or those bearing the message. FROM JACK: The miracle of God's message is that "one size fits all." No discrimination. No boundaries. We are one in the Spirit.

FROM PRJS IN MICHIGAN: I think they whisper to you when you are listening to a dull unprepared sermon....thank God! FROM JACK: Yes, God is a God of miracles and can use imperfect people as his angels. Sometimes, that's a hard lesson to learn. We get the message mixed up with the messenger.

FROM SG IN TAMPA: Yesterday while we were taking our daily evening walk, lo and behold there was a tiny screech owl sitting on the lawn. Its eyes were huge and he/she looked just as surprised as we were. Marley. the dog we walk, missed the owl completely before it flew away. FROM JACK: Something to think about... Can a screech owl be a messenger from God? A friend was going through a difficult time and went out for a walk. As he walked, he saw an eagle soaring overhead and following him. He felt the presence of God.

FROM MOLINER CF: Angels are capable of turning down the iPod volume when they have something to whisper. But keep your hearing aid tuned in. FROM JACK: Someone recently told me that God spoke to them through the song, "Here I am, Lord." I don't whether or not they were listening on an iPod.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: Good quote but today my angel is telling me to keep off the ice. He/she is watching out for me! FROM JACK: Maybe you can sing this song:
Well it's all night, all day, angels a watchin’ over me my Lord
Well it's all night, all day, angels a watchin’ over me.

FROM OLD SHEP IN MICHIGAN: That's where I always get my ideas. Sometimes they come so fast I have to have tricks for remembering them all. But today I went to the gym for my workout on the treadmill. too cold outside. Brrrrr! It doesn't work as well for ideas as my 4 mile walk in Royal Oak. hope you and mary are staying cozy. FROM JACK: Maybe you should carry a tape recorder with you for those ideas.

FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE: anything's possible, but it might be a little garbled. FROM JACK: ...and sometime the hearing ain't what it used to be.

FROM MO IN ILLINOIS: Ha! Well, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks...Give it a try! :-) FROM JACK: Does that mean you are hi-tech enough to have an iPod?

FROM PO, HOME FROM BETHLEHEM: It was a peculiar trip. I went to take part in a walk on a portion of Abraham's Path in the Judean Desert with an overnight stay in a Bedouin camp only to have it cancelled because of severe storms. But managed to have a good time anyway including an interesting encounter with a pickpocket. I was able to retain my possessions, but my he was good! I'm now 36 hours without sleep (have never learned to sleep on a plane, even the overnight flights) so don't plan to even unpack til later. FROM JACK: Interesting! I walked where Jesus walked and met a pickpocket. I wonder if there were pickpockets in his day? Did robes have pockets?

ANOTHER THOUGHT FROM YOOPER PO: lol --- as to the voice of angels and the voice of God, I fairly often
hear the voice of angels no matter where I am. But I find I'm much more questioning about the voice of God because I'm not sure it's what God wants or what I want! FROM JACK: If angels are God's messengers, you might have been hearing the voice of God without knowing it. MORE FROM PO: I didn't think about it that way --- always good to get a fresh perspective on these things!